[RetroGameDeveloper]

Summary

Add Deep permuter · this function to the function drawer, with a time limit, candidate-compile limit, live counters and Stop button.

• Uses the selected function's saved/scored C, in ROM and imported project modes.
• Bypasses the background instruction ceiling and per-function turn limit for this explicit search only.
• Visits the full currently generated local candidate list (the background's 20-candidate cap stays unchanged), then runs ordinary random permutations.
• All improvements and exact matches use the normal compiler/link or imported object judge and save immediately.
• Scoped cached misses are skipped across deep jobs; failed builds remain retryable, and cached improvements must be rejudged. Scalar cache entries cannot replace measured baseline instruction evidence.
• Cancellation/time/compile limits release claims and close the generator. The UI retains logs and clears its progress indicator on success, error and cancellation.

The UI and docs explicitly state that arbitrary C rewriting cannot exhaust every possible source program or compiler option. This is a bounded deeper search, not an exhaustive proof.

Investigation

A private N64 project remained at 1,704 matches after the user's latest autopilot pass: zero new matches. Its latest recorded reuse phase ran 120 seconds with zero fresh candidate attempts. All 153 eligible normal near misses had reached their four-turn cap. This feature provides an explicit route beyond that cap without changing global settings or starting paid agents.

A separate warning-enabled compile on a private copy identified an uninitialized pointer in a saved near miss. Advisory compiler diagnostics and faster traversal of cached/indexed reuse work are useful next improvements; they are not claimed as implemented here. No game source, ROM, database or transcript is included.

Validation

• 93 focused permuter, GUI lifecycle and route tests passed; the final baseline-evidence test also passed in the complete 14-test deep-search module.
• Tests cover ROM/imported judge routing, keeping improvements, time/compile limits, cancellation, generator cleanup, busy/matched/unscored functions, cache behavior and retryable compile failures.
• Real compiler/link replay on a private project copy: two four-compile jobs stopped at the requested cap; the second skipped previously judged misses and advanced to new candidates; claims were released.
• Ruff and git diff --check passed.